The invention is directed generally to filters for aquariums and more particularly to a filter for removing particles from aquarium water.
Conventional aquariums employ a combination of mechanical, chemical and/or sometimes biological filtration in order to remove various undesirable materials from aquarium water. Many conventional filters for hobbyist size aquariums include a fabric pad, wad of floss or some other fabric-type material for trapping solid particles. Other conventional filters draw particles into the gravel bottom of the aquarium.
Aquarium water contains many undissolved particles. Some are very small, with a diameter of a few microns or less. These may consist of bacteria and bits of organic and inorganic molecules clumped together. Conventional mechanical filters catch and holds particles by physically trapping the particles within the filtering material. Consequently, most mechanical filters can only capture particles larger than 50 to 100 microns. Diatomacous earth filters can remove small particles in the range of a few microns in size. However, a filter which can capture the smallest particles will clog quickly and water flow therethrough and its effectiveness will quickly diminish. Therefore diatome type filters are only used sporadically. Also, filters that capture the smallest particles can clog quickly and need to be cleaned more frequently in order to maintain functional water flows.
A conventional method for eliminating these particles is to use a diatome-type filter. In operation, diatome powder is coated on the surface of a filter bag cartridge-type filter. The diatome powder includes minute pores and particles within the aquarium water become trapped in the pores. Often, the bottom of an aquarium is stirred up to permit the particles that settled onto the gravel to be drawn into the diatome filter and trapped in the combination of filter bag and diatome powder. The powder can be messy to use and cleaning the filter bag can be a messy unpleasant task. Accordingly, such filters are not fully satisfactory.
Large particles will tend to settle at the bottom of aquariums, especially where there is minimal turbulence and water circulation. Most tropical fish require this minimal turbulence and accordingly, a flow rate high enough to remove such particles cannot be maintained for more than a short amount of time. Frequently, detritus from various sources will accumulate on the bottom of an aquarium, giving the gravel a dirty appearance. Particles can also affect the turbidity of the aquarium water. Accordingly, an improved filter which can remove these heavy particles after the bottom is stirred up as well as minute particles is desirable.
Commercial settings, such as pet shops, connect multiple tanks to a central filtration system. This filtration system typically includes a cartridge-type filter with a large filtering core. As the filter core becomes clogged with debris, the flow rate through the filter decreases and the performance of the overall filtration system can be adversely affected. Such filters are inconvenient and unpleasant to clean and can require some type of back washing with reverse flow through the filtration material--an inconvenient task. Also, such filters may not be able to trap the smallest particles.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved filter for both hobbyist and commercial aquariums, which avoids the drawbacks of the prior art.